IndianOil fends off Railways' challenge
New Delhi   07-Oct-2009
IndianOil had to ward off a formidable challenge from Indian Railways before it sealed its place in the semifinals of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radha Krishnan Stadium on Tuesday. The 1-0 verdict, thanks to Rupinder Singh's effort two minutes before the final whistle, saved the day for IndianOil. For the large measure, the tie was in favour of the Railway squad whose resilience and robust play kept the IndianOil on the defensive throughout. The outcome brought IndianOil's tally to 12 points after finishing the programmed in Pool B, while Indian Railways has three points from three matches with one in hand against Punjab National Bank. <b>Chances frittered away</b> Till date, this was Railways best shot in the competition. It is a pity that it did not end up on the side of victory. Railways showed the gumption, the aggression and the adeptness in weaving moves, with Hardeep Singh, Quereshi and Perm Kumar crippling the IndanOil defense. If only their work had carried that matching finish, Railways would have won hands down. Quite a few chances were frittered away and Perm Kumar was guilty of throwing away a couple. Punjab National ' Bank warmed up rather late in the tournament recording its first win in three matches beating Mumbai with consummate ease in Pool B. <b>Fumbled penalty</b> Actually, PNB could have won by a bigger margin if all the chances were capitalized. Yudvir Singh even fumbled with a penalty stroke early in the second half. The results: Punjab National Bank 4 (Damandeep Singh 2, Yudvir Singh, Jalwinder Singh) but Mumbai 1 (Gurdev Singh). IndianOil 1 (Rupinder Singh) but Indian Railways 0. Wednesday's matches: BPCL vs I0B, Air India v Kamataka; Army v Mumbai.